Friday, March 23, 2012

“One day men will look back and say I gave birth to the twentieth century.” ~ Jack the Ripper, in the letter "From Hell"

The Whitechapel district of London in the late 1800's was a largely impoverished area. Robbery, violence and the abuse of alcohol was commonplace, and poverty drove many women to prostitution in order to survive. Whitechapel became infamous when the "Leather Apron" serial killer, who eventually became known as Jack the Ripper, began stalking "women of the night". The crimes were so horrific we still talk of them today.

As I have always been fascinated by gaslights and London fog, it was only natural that I was inspired to create some textures based on buildings from that period. I hope that I have, and continue to do them justice.

Butchers Row, Aldgate High Street, late 1800's

Each set includes 34 plaseter based textures in different combinations along with 3 bonus textures featuring cracked and damaged walls. Set 1 is a package of all the walls without shadowed tops. Set 2 is the same set with shadowed walls which give them a bit more of a grungy look.